Pharmaceutical Technology Europe-11-01-2008

Rapid advances in drug discovery have led to the identification of a number of compounds with good therapeutic potential.

I confess I am no financial expert. My knowledge about the current credit crisis can be summed up in six words: 'debt is bad; cash is good', which was pretty much the limit of my understanding about money before it all began.

During the past two decades, regulations have evolved in both Europe and the US to accommodate the technological developments in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries.

More than 235 biotechnology companies call New Jersey home. They range from early start-ups with just a few employees to fully functioning companies with research, marketing and sales offices.

Although California remains the country's biotech leader, Michigan anticipates that the wind is shifting direction, albeit slowly

Many industries, from aerospace to medical devices, conduct cleaning procedures.

There are many challenges upstream and downstream in manufacturing a biotech drug.

The first 2 weeks of October witnessed the closure of CPhI (30 September–2 October) and the whole of Biotechnica (7–9 October). Pharmaceutical Technology Europe had a presence at both events, which took place in Frankfurt and Hanover (both Germany), respectively. With record-breaking numbers of attendees, roundtables and conferences of the highest quality, and exhibitors from bio and pharma companies from all over the world, these two events are a must in the calendars of many in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries.

Richard Kilner, Managing Director of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania European Investment Office, is incredibly enthusiastic about both his State and the potential it offers investors: "We are the number one State in pharmaceuticals (by number of establishments, employment and GDP output) and rapidly closing in on Massachusetts, the number two in biotech."

Together, Europe and the US account for more than 70% of the global pharmaceutical market, and the growth of these markets is heavily dependent on distribution systems.

Access to the capital markets of the US has always been a key attraction for Europe's biotech businesses.

FDA advocates building quality into a product through PAT.

Many compounds fail in preclinical development because of safety-related problems, but identifying 'predictable' safety or toxicity liabilities earlier in the process could lead to improved design and selection of compounds that are more likely to be approved.

Efficiency is more than just a buzzword in today's pharmaceutical industry; declining productivity and diminishing returns on investment have made it an over-arching mindset that is critical to corporate survival.

California's forward-thinking reputation, well-funded research universities and world leadership in the potentially life-saving field of stem cell research and green energy provide a progressive and positive business environment for biotech companies.

High-throughput screening (HTS) of compound libraries is the most widely adopted approach to hit discovery because it is the only generic way of addressing a variety of targets on an industrial scale.

Speaking to Pharmaceutical Technology Europe, Georgia Bio's Director of Innovation and Technology, Carol Henderson, outlined the unique assets that make Georgia an attractive location for international bioscience companies.

According to Deputy Director, Alexander Bothmann, of Enterprise Florida Inc., in Germany, the 'Sunshine State' is: "Committed to building a world-class biotechnology sector by investing in research facilities, fostering the growth of local biotech companies and welcoming progressive newcomers, such as the Scripps Research Institute, the Burnham Institute for Medical Research and Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies."